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Getting creative: Unusual places for art spaces

Richard Carter, Special to the Times Record News
Published 7:52 p.m. CT July 2, 2017 | Updated 12:20 p.m. CT July 7, 2017

Artist Jaidon LaFerney will open an exhibit of her paintings from 6 to 9 p.m. July 8 at the Ganache Cupcake Lounge. The eatery has featured art for more than four years and began regularly hosting shows two years ago.(Photo: Contributed)

But over the past three years or so, spaces for artists to show their work, and for people to experience it, have blossomed. Surprisingly, many of those new art spaces have painted themselves into restaurants and nightclubs, far from traditional art galleries.

Painter Vickie Milam, who exhibits her work in the Lilly Pad Studio at 600 Eighth St. but also shows her work at The Maplewood, said, “If you’re a business and have artists who want to showcase their work, you can fill up your walls and bring in new clientele.”

Milam said the Maplewood Gallery 3 1/2 years ago started to showcase artists who didn’t have an opportunity to show their work.

“There just weren’t very many venues in town,” she said.

It’s an idea that quickly caught on with artists and patrons.

“We’re doing great,” she said.

The space organizes monthly shows with openings on the first Wednesday or Thursday of each month, and the receptions are well attended. The space shows photography, acrylic, oil, collage and other media and is booked with new artists' shows through the end of 2018.

Another space similar to the Maplewood is the Ganache Cupcake Lounge, 2412 Jack St, Unit B. It touts monthly arts shows and opening receptions.

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Vickie Milam opened The Lilly Pad in 2015 to paint as well as to exhibit her art and that of other area artists. The space is part of the After Hours Artwalk and other downtown art functions and is next to the Wichita Falls Art Association Gallery.(Photo: Richard Carter/Special to the Times Record News)

Artist Jaidon LaFerney, who works next door at Tangles, is set to open her July show of 20 new paintings at Ganache from 6 to 9 p.m. July 8.

“I see everyone else’s work there because I work next door, but to be invited to show, I am so excited.”

Ganache owner Amber Schacter said the cupcakery had been showing artists on and off for four years, “when I noticed two years ago there were enough artists that we could do a regular show every month.”

There’s no curator, Schacter said.

“It’s me, and I feel beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and if someone has something that’s interesting and they’re from Wichita Falls, I am open to showing their work.”

The eatery's wall space can showcase about 20 pieces of work.

Like The Maplewood, Ganache advertises its shows on Facebook and by word of mouth.

“We easily fill up our calendar with artists calling and wanting to show their work," Schacter said.

She is getting ready to close the Parker Square location at the end of September to move her business to the Zales building. She hopes to have the right wall space downtown to be able to properly show art.

What she loves about the art shows is that they add “interest and character" to the walls.

"And every month, it’s something new to look at, which adds a lot to our restaurant.”

One of the area’s growing arts hot spots is downtown Wichita Falls, where the Kemp Center for the Arts already colors downtown with four established indoor galleries. The WestEnd, NorthLight, What’s Up Downstairs and Patio galleries are booked from 12 to 18 months in advance, said Kemp Center Gallery Manager, Kristine Thueson.

In 2015, a dramatic and well-attended and publicized art show, "Blue Skies for Big Blue" at the First Wichita Building, otherwise known as "Big Blue," seemed to spur on other nontraditional spaces. The photography exhibit featured studies of the building, and next to that art show, was a series of unframed photographs of the structure.

The MSU student show was made possible by Gary Goldberg, MSU professor of art and director of the Juanita and Ralph Harvey Art Gallery, who said he very much believes that students should show their work whenever and however possible. Regarding the sudden development of new spaces in the area, he said, “I think it’s great that there are new possibilities for artists and students to show their work. It’s very helpful for the arts and the larger community.”

The Maplewood began regularly showing art more than 3 1/2 years ago. The business hosts receptions for art shows the first Wednesday or Thursday of each month.(Photo: Contributed)

The "Blue Skies for Big Blue" photo exhibit was followed by a Pop-Up Art Gallery organized by the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts & Culture that featured the work of 150 students ages 5 to 17.

The arts continues to blossom downtown. The 7th Street Studio, a working studio featuring teaching artists, opened 18 months ago and displays the art of teachers and students on the first floor of LaSalle Crossing, Seventh Street and Ohio Avenue.

7th Street Studio is active in the After Hours Artwalk the first Thursday of each month from April to October that features artists setting up in the Downtown Farmers Market and along Ohio Street. The studio is a stone's throw away from the Wichita Falls Art Association Gallery, which also regularly organizes art exhibits and shows its members' work.

Another stop on the Artwalk is the Odd Duck coffee shop, 717 Seventh St., which is showing the art of painter and photographer Danielle Janecek.

Another stop is Highlander Public House, 726 Scott, which opened March 17. Owner Jan Phipps said local artist Adam Lynskey asked to hang art soon after the business opened, and he has sold some of his work.

The new Texas Pub has plenty of space to hang original art, and the owners hope soon to be able to feature a new artist each month.

9th Street Studio, 920 9th St., rents studio space and also organizes private and public parties that feature the work of numerous area artists.

Even the venerable Wichita Theatre has come to host art shows in 2017 after developing the Wichita Theatre Balcony Gallery with a grant they received earlier this year. Owner Dwayne Jackson worked with the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts & Culture on the gallery and to bring a Dallas-based photography exhibit, “Sepia: A Legacy in Photography,” to the gallery from Feb 12 to March 11.

The Balcony Gallery soon after held its second show featuring the work of Ramona Steagal, a teaching artist at the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts & Culture. The balcony is hosting Alice’s Wonderland Tour, a premusical tour space for viewers of the theater's current production of “Disney's Alice in Wonderland Jr.”

Milam said downtown Wichita Falls is primed for spaces to show art. The After Hours Artwalk has been successful, and plenty of artists who want to show their work, and many viewers who want to see more of their art.

There are many more places in Wichita Falls that show art, such as the 8th Street Coffee House, 710 8th Street, and the Gallery Frame Shop, 2915 Bob Ave. in Parker Square. The Kemp Center for the Arts also shows work in satellite galleries, such as at the Maplewood Laser Clinic, 3631 Maplewood Ave., Suite 3.